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How Vijay beat political villains and numbers nightmare to get his happy ending
Thalapathy Vijay fought missing numbers, political villains and nonstop twists for five days before delivering the ultimate climax — Tamil Nadu CM oath.
C Joseph Vijay for the last five days has battled a legion of political “villains” — missing numbers, reluctant allies, deleted support letters, horse-trading allegations, and a Governor unwilling to blink without written proof of majority. On Sunday morning, he completed the hero's arc by taking oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister.
The actor-turned-politician, who began the week as the single-largest winner after Tamil Nadu elections but still short of the majority mark, overcame one political hurdle after another to stitch together a six-party alliance and cross the halfway mark in the 234-member Assembly. Inside Chennai's Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder, bringing an end to Tamil Nadu’s most dramatic post-poll thriller in decades.
The moment was historic as much as it was cinematic. For the first time since 1967, a party outside the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam axis formed the government in Tamil Nadu, shattering a 62-year-old political duopoly.
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Act 1: The arithmetic that almost derailed the script
TVK emerged as the single-largest party in the assembly elections with 108 seats in the 234-member House when results were declared on May 4. But almost immediately after the celebrations faded, the math became the main antagonist.
The majority mark stood at 118. Worse for Vijay, he had won from two constituencies, meaning his effective voting strength during a confidence motion dropped to 107 because he could vote only once.
That left him effectively needing the support of 11 more MLAs.
The comparison with Vijay's 2019 blockbuster Bigil quickly became irresistible. In the film, his character Michael Rayappan spends the story assembling an underdog football team of 11 players. In real life, Vijay spent five days assembling 11 MLAs.
Act 2: Help arrives from Congress and Left parties
The Indian National Congress was the first major player to support TVK, offering five MLAs but with conditions attached. Congress insisted Vijay keep “communal forces” - shorthand for the BJP-led NDA - away from the alliance.
Then came the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) with two MLAs each. Both parties said they were backing TVK to prevent President’s Rule and stop what they called a possible “backdoor entry” of the BJP into Tamil Nadu politics.
The tally climbed to 116.
Close enough to smell victory, but still short enough to keep the suspense alive.
Act 3: VCK, IUML and AMMK target the hero from different directions
For nearly three days, the spotlight shifted entirely to the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and its chief Thol Thirumavalavan.
At different moments, the VCK appeared ready to support TVK, reluctant to break from the DMK-led alliance, and then reportedly interested in a larger share in power. Rumours swirled about deputy chief ministerial ambitions and even an alternative arrangement where Thirumavalavan himself could emerge as a consensus chief ministerial candidate.
The suspense reached peak drama on Friday.
A VCK support letter appeared online. Then vanished. Then an X account, claiming to be the party's official one, itself disappeared within an hour. Screenshots continued circulating across Tamil Nadu political circles anyway.
Meanwhile, Governor Arlekar met Vijay three times in three days but refused to invite him to form the government without written proof of majority support.
Each meeting ended with Vijay walking out empty-handed.
As if the numbers battle wasn’t chaotic enough, another subplot exploded on Friday night.
The Indian Union Muslim League first hinted at support before leader AM Shahjahan publicly denied issuing any support letter and insisted the party remained aligned with the DMK.
Then came the biggest controversy of the week.
Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam chief TTV Dhinakaran accused TVK supporters of circulating a “forged” letter claiming support from his lone MLA S Kamaraj.
Dhinakaran rushed to Raj Bhavan, demanded an investigation and called the episode “horse-trading and a mockery of democracy”.
TVK hit back almost immediately, releasing a video allegedly showing Kamaraj voluntarily writing the support letter. The party accused Dhinakaran of spreading misinformation and insisted it had no need to “bargain or negotiate” for support.
Also read: How ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, the new Tamil Nadu chief minister, turned the tide after Karur stampede
Act 4: The climax arrived on Saturday evening
The breakthrough finally came just before the political deadline. On Saturday evening, both VCK and IUML formally submitted support letters to TVK. Vijay’s tally climbed to 120 — two above the majority mark.
At almost the same time, Governor Arlekar reportedly cancelled his scheduled flight to Kerala and instead fixed another meeting with Vijay at 6.30 pm.
This time, Vijay walked into Lok Bhavan not with verbal assurances or political optimism, but with signatures from 120 MLAs.
After nearly two hours of discussions, the Governor finally relented.
Around 8.30 pm on Saturday, Vijay received the formal invitation to form the government.
Also read: How math is finally mathing for TVK's Vijay to form Tamil Nadu govt
The final scene: ‘Thalapathy’ becomes chief minister
On Sunday morning, the man fans call “Thalapathy” — commander — completed Tamil cinema's most famous political crossover since MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
Alongside Vijay, nine ministers also took oath after the Governor approved the cabinet list recommended by the TVK chief. The cabinet includes ‘Bussy’ N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, K A Sengottaiyan, K G Arunraaj, P Venkataramanan, C T R Nirmal Kumar, A Rajmohan, S Keerthana and K T Prabhu. Keerthana is the lone woman minister in the cabinet.
Vijay is expected to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly on or before May 13.
